


calling the right person

by smartbuckley



Series: Buddie Tumblr Prompts [27]
Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Angry Eddie Diaz, Apologies, Early Season 03, Eddie Diaz is in Jail, Evan "Buck" Buckley Deserves an Apology, Getting Together, M/M, Making Out, POV Evan "Buck" Buckley, Season/Series 03
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-15
Updated: 2020-03-15
Packaged: 2021-02-28 16:34:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23150251
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smartbuckley/pseuds/smartbuckley
Summary: When Buck get's a phone call saying that Eddie's in jail - the two hash it out after.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz
Series: Buddie Tumblr Prompts [27]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1528010
Comments: 27
Kudos: 482
Collections: 9-1-1 Tales





	calling the right person

**Author's Note:**

> This fic takes place in early season three - before Eddie's street fighting starts, and during the beginning stages of Buck's lawsuit against the team. Neither are the complete focus, though. I hope you guys enjoy this.
> 
> **Original Prompt** : _what about a buddie prompt/AU where Eddie does call Buck instead of Lena to bail him out of jail the first time and they have a much needed heart to heart and/or argument_.

It was early morning when his phone rang, disrupting the absolute nothingness that Buck had currently been doing. Buck had been sitting on his couch, watching some old-school cartoons with a water bottle in his hand when the ringtone had gone off, confusion coursing through Buck’s system as it did so. No one had called or texted him in nearly a week - since he had served Bobby with the papers to the lawsuit. Of course, Buck had thought that surely  _ someone _ would fight to try and reach out to him, instructions be damned in that they were told to stay away, but no one did and Buck was pretty sure that that had hurt him more than anything else, admittedly.

So when his phone had gone off, ringing continuously, Buck couldn’t help but frown because he hadn’t had anyone contact him in a week, and for someone to contact him now, it just seemed weird to the Pennsylvania native. Yes, he had hope, as the phone rang, that it was someone he knew, but why would they call him now when they weren’t calling him at any point earlier on in the week? Buck had plans to ignore the phone call, because surely it was probably a teleprompter or something, but something in him told him that he would regret it, so with a soft inhale of breath, he reached over to where his phone was on his table, picking it up with an exhale and turning it over, frowning when he saw the unknown but local number.

Still frowning, Buck swiped to answer, holding the phone up to his ear and stating a quick greeting, waiting patiently until Buck heard Eddie’s voice on the other line, his eyes widening in surprise.

“Eddie, wha--”

“Buck, I need you to shut up for a minute, I only have one minute of phone time--” Eddie interrupts and Buck snaps his mouth shut, wondering why the  _ hell _ Eddie only has a minute of phone time. He wants to ask, but he hums instead, knowing his best friend will get to the point if he does just stay quiet.

“I uh - I need you to come and possibly bail me out of jail. I’m in a holding cell at the Torrance City Jail,” Buck hears Eddie say and his mouth drops open in surprise, a sputtering sound coming out from it as he hears Eddie sigh on the other end of the line.

“What the  _ hell _ ,” he asks, though mostly in disbelief before he shakes his head and rolls his eyes. “I’ll be there as soon as I can,” he responds, hanging up the phone quickly, a scowl on his face as he heads up the stairs to his room, where his safe is hidden. It’s not something anyone knows about, and after he quickly spins the dial to enter the numbers, grabbing a stack of cash that he knows is enough before he goes back downstairs, grabbing his keys and making his way out of his apartment, locking the door quickly. When he finally gets to his parking spot, he jumps into his jeep, thanking the universe that he’s been by the TCJ enough times to know where it is without needing to place it into his GPS for directions. The entire drive over, he can’t help but ask himself why the hell Eddie is in a holding cell, and he vows to get answers when he goes to bail him out, even if Eddie ends up pissed at him.

* * *

When he pulls into the parking lot of the police department, Buck lets out a small sigh, hands clenching the steering wheel tightly before he takes a few inhales and exhales, trying to remember all of the times he had to do breathing exercises. Closing his eyes briefly, Buck places his forehead onto his steering wheel, doing a few more breathing exercises before he shuts off his jeep and gets out of it, slamming the door as numerous thoughts run through his mind.

He almost hesitates when he sees the steps leading up to the building but shaking his head, Buck jogs up them, opening the door and breathing in, looking around for the officer on duty, eyes narrowing when he spots the hallway going to the holding cells. He waits as patiently as he can for the officer to get to him, and when he finally does, Buck does his best to get Eddie out of the holding cell, paying the bail without a cringe. When the officer goes to grab Eddie from the cells, Buck shoves his hands into his pockets, shaking with rage at the fact that Eddie was so damn  _ stupid _ .

The officer had told him what he had happened -- Eddie had gotten into a fist fight with a gentleman in the parking lot of the Castle Park Sherman Oaks theme park, over a goddamn parking spot -- okay, Buck could understand  _ why _ it was over a parking spot, since apparently the other man had been harping on Eddie over using the disability spot, but to  _ fight _ the other guy?

That sure as hell didn’t sound like his best friend, Buck thought. When he finally spotted Eddie being pushed forward, Buck couldn’t help but glare at the officer, since he knows that’s not necessary, the urge to cross his arms in front of his chest high. Before anything can happen though, Eddie is being released from the cuffs and walking towards him, taking his arm and practically dragging Buck out of the building.

Buck stays quiet for a few minutes, anger and confusion coursing through him until finally, they’re at Buck’s jee, at which point Buck can’t stay quiet any longer, and he turns towards Eddie with a scowl.

“What the  _ hell _ , Eddie?” He snaps, finally folding his arms in front of him, though he rests it on the top of his jeep as he glares at the other man, waiting for an answer.

“No, you don’t get to do that,” Eddie snaps back and Buck can’t help but let out a scoff, shaking his head.

“Except I  _ will _ do that, because I just drove miles to bail your ass out, for  _ fighting _ , and because you’re my best friend, Eddie!” Buck snaps back, taking a step back to open the door of his jeep before glaring at Eddie.

“Now get in so I can take you home,” he says, his voice softening a little bit as he gets in and notices Eddie slumping forward before he follows, slamming the door shut in his anger. Buck tries not to cringe - the jeep is brand new thanks to the tsunami ruining his past one, and had cost a lot of money - money he had but didn’t want to spend, so Eddie slamming the door of his damn jeep has Buck scowling even harder as he starts it, though he stays quiet on the front and begins driving, shaking his head, hoping the time it takes to get back to Eddie’s home will be enough time to calm the two of them both down.

The drive is silent, the only noise coming from the radio that has music playing, though Buck can see Eddie opening and closing his mouth a few times and he can’t help but wonder what’s going through his best friend’s mind, and what it is he wants to say but stops himself from saying. When Buck finally gets a few blocks away from Eddie’s home, he finds himself a little surprised when Eddie turns to him in his seat and lets out a soft sigh.

“The dude was an asshole, and he deserved to be punched,” Eddie grumbles and Buck looks at him out of the corner of his eye, thankful that they’re at a stop light right now before he shakes his head.

“I don’t doubt that, Eddie. It’s the fact that you were fighting and punching someone in general. Those are not the actions that come from the man I call my best friend,” Buck says and he can see Eddie frowning, and wonders what Eddie is thinking once more.

“Except you haven’t really been a great best friend lately, have you?” Eddie says, his tone cruel and Buck finds himself tightening his hold on his steering wheel, sucking back a deep breath before he blinks back the tears that were starting to form and glares at Eddie.

“Why, because I’m suing Bobby and the department?” Buck questions.

“Because you can’t contact any of us!” Eddie snaps and Buck lets out a scoff, shaking his head.

“And up until today, not once did you even try and push past that instruction, Eddie. If we’re so called best friends, why did you just accept the fact that I ‘couldn’t interact with you’ without fighting back on it?” Buck asks and he knows the hurt he’s feeling over that fact is seeping through his voice, and he finds himself thankful because at least Eddie realizes it was a two way street there. Buck sees Eddie open his mouth before he closes it, relaxes into the cushion of the seat in his jeep, and Buck can only shake his head once more as he pulls into Eddie’s driveway and stops the vehicle from emitting gas when he’s not driving it.

“If you really cared, Eddie - if you really wanted to talk to me, you very well could have, because  _ nothing _ was stopping  **you** ,” Buck says, his voice soft, and he can’t help but avoid Eddie’s eyes, though he doesn’t know why, not completely. Part of him wonders if it’s because if he looks at Eddie completely, he’ll break, and he’ll talk about the feelings that have been growing between him, while another part of him wonders if it’s because he doesn’t want to see the disappointment he knows he’ll find within. The jeep stays quiet for who knows how long, Buck continuing to avoid Eddie’s eyes before he lets out a gentle sigh and finally turns to face him.

“You’re home. Are you going in or are you just going to sit out here for no reason?” Buck asks, arching one of his eyebrows at Eddie.

“Come in with me,” Eddie says and Buck finds himself blinking in surprise, his mouth dropping open before he leans backwards, looking at Eddie carefully, his eyes wandering for a few minutes before he shakes his head, turning away from Eddie and taking another breath.

“Why, Eddie? So you can yell at me some more? So you can--”

“So I can apologize. So I can find out what’s really going on. So I can talk to my best friend again,” Eddie interrupts and Buck turns to look at Eddie for another few minutes before letting out a breath and removing his keys, opening his door.

“Alright, then,” Buck admits, leaving the car and walking towards the front door of Eddie’s home, using his key to open it and go in, feeling a little weird about it but pushing those thoughts away as soon as they come. It takes Buck a few minutes to fully make himself at home, feeling like he’s pushing a boundary he no longer has access to, sitting on the couch and crossing his legs before getting himself comfortable, watching out of the corner of his eye as Eddie grabs two bottles of water and sits next to him.

The silence between the two men is tense, and Buck can’t help but peel the label on the bottle of water in his hands, looking down at his feet while chewing the inside of his cheek. He knows -- he doesn’t know a lot, but what he does know is that he hates how awkward things are in this moment, hates how he can’t talk to Eddie right now because of his mistakes, and --

“Buck, I need you to look at me. Please,,” he hears Eddie say and he looks over to the other man, takes a deep breath and then looks away, blinking, not sure what else he can do.

“I can’t--” Buck says, shaking his head and biting the inside of his cheek once more before he turns towards Eddie with a frown.

“I was so angry, Buck,” Eddie whispers and Buck looks at Eddie, furrowing his brow, not sure how to respond to that. Letting out a breath, Buck moves his body, shifting so that he’s looking at Eddie completely.

“I don’t -- I don’t understand why you’re so angry about this, Eddie. It’s not like I’m suing the entire team. I’m suing Bobby and the department--”

“But we’re all a team, Buck. All of us are a team and a family and by suing Bobby--”

“I’m suing you? That’s not how it works, man,” Buck says, his voice soft as Eddie looks at him with wide eyes, and Buck can’t help but come to the realization that Eddie doesn’t  _ know _ . Letting out another huff of breath, Buck shakes his head.

“Do you want to know  _ why _ I’m suing?” Buck asks, looking down at his feet for a moment before looking back at Eddie, not surprised to see Eddie blinking at him in surprise. He opens and closes his mouth a few times, almost like he wasn’t expecting that to be asked and Buck waits until Eddie nods his head.

“Because the department? They cleared me to come back. They cleared me to come back weeks ago. Do you want to know why I didn’t? Because Bobby kept telling me they kept saying no. And then when Bobby does tell me - during a weekly dinner with him and Athena --” Buck shakes his head.

“Bobby kept me from working because he didn’t want to be reminded that I’m human, and I could get injured on the job. He kept me from the job because of his  _ emotions _ , Eddie. And that’s not fair. Not when he let Chim come back to work after his rebar in the head, not when he let you come back while you were grieving, not even when he let Hen come back to work when she nearly let an ex-girlfriend overdose,” Buck whispers, shaking his head before placing his water bottle onto the table, a scowl on his face as he looks at Eddie.

“So yeah, I’m suing Bobby - not you, not Chimney, not Hen. But  _ Bobby _ , because he was holding me back when he shouldn’t have been,” Buck says and he looks at Eddie carefully, watching the other man carefully, wanting to get up and pace so that he didn’t have to focus on the worry coursing through him during the moment.

Just when he feels like he’s not going to be able to take it anymore, he finds himself blinking in surprise when he feels Eddie’s hands on his cheeks, and then his neck, turning him so they’re looking at one another completely.

“Buck, you have no idea how sorry I am. For everything. I’m sorry I didn’t let you explain. I’m sorry I didn’t try to come visit you. I’m sorry that I’ve been a terrible friend to you and I promise to try and make it up to you any way how,” Eddie whispers and Buck looks up at Eddie through his lashes, taking in a breath before exhaling and closing his eyes, his own hands coming up to Eddie’s face and holding Eddie before they fall back to his side.

“Why were you so angry, Eddie?” Buck finds himself asking after a few minutes of just holding his best friend’s face. He feels like their standing on the edge of something precarious, something they won’t be able to come back from and Buck doesn’t know how to feel about that, not when Eddie’s own emotions are up in the air.

“It felt like -- like Shannon all over again,” Eddie admits, voice quiet and Buck has to frown because he doesn’t quite understand what Eddie means, leaning back and looking at Eddie in confusion, a small laugh escaping from Eddie confusing Buck even more.

“I didn’t realize it Buck, but I guess I’ve placed you in the role of co-parent to Chris, and when I found out we couldn’t have any contact, it felt like -- like Shannon. Like she was leaving, and I wasn’t good enough,” Eddie admits and Buck surges forward, wrapping his arms around Eddie and shaking his head. Part of him can’t even possibly believe that Eddie would, for one second, place Buck in the same category as his ex-wife, and there’s a part of his heart that completely soars at the idea of Buck being considered close enough to Eddie that Eddie places him in the same category as Shannon.

And another part of his heart drops as he wonders if maybe he’s fucked it all up by going through with the lawsuit. After a few minutes, Buck allows his arms to drop from Eddie and he sits back, watching his friend carefully before blowing out a breath and shifting on the couch, grabbing his water and taking a sip from it.

“You -- Eddie, you have to know you’re more than enough,” Buck can’t help but whisper, looking up at his best friend through his lashes.

“Yeah, except I guess, no, not really,” Eddie responds and Buck can’t help himself, moving forward and grabbing Eddie’s hand, squeezing it as he laces their fingers together, shaking his head.

“You  _ are.  _ God, Eddie, you have no idea how important you and Chris are to me. I’m sorry, that Shannon ran on you the first time, and I’m sorry that you guys were getting divorced before she died, so you never really got that closure, but Eddie - you are so damn important, man. Don’t let my fuck ups make you believe otherwise,” Buck says, his voice rising briefly near the end of his statement. He can see Eddie looking at him carefully, eyes narrowing a little before he nods and takes a deep breath, and Buck can’t help but wonder what’s going through his best friend’s mind.

“I felt like I couldn’t talk to you,” Eddie whispers and Buck nods, understanding.

“But you could have tried,” Buck says, watching as Eddie nods in responds, and both men let out a huff of breath, chuckling when they catch one another’s eyes, Buck shifting forward so that his knees are pressed against Eddie’s, his body relaxing, their hands still clasped in one another’s. The two stay like that, though Buck doesn’t know how long, too busy taking Eddie in, a small frown on his face.

“Do you -- do you need help? Getting your anger issues out?” Buck asks, his voice quiet, hesitant, Eddie looking up at him with a frown before he nods his head.

“It’s probably for the best,” Eddie responds back, shifting, his hand flexing inside of Buck’s and Buck -- Buck wants to keep holding his hand, but he doesn’t know -- doesn’t know if it’s what Eddie wants, so he loosens his grip, just to see and when nothing happens, he tightens it, cheeks turning red when Eddie smiles up at him.

“I can take you boxing, if you think it’ll help. I took Maddie--” Buck says before stopping, shrugging his shoulders and looking at his legs.

“I’d like that,” Eddie whispers back and Buck looks up at Eddie, nodding, biting his lower lip before looking away once more.

“I uh - I’m sorry, Buck. For not hearing you out. For blaming you.” Eddie says and Buck looks back at Eddie quickly, eyes widening as he nods, heart continuing to pound inside of his chest.

“You don’t--” Buck begins but he stops when Eddie shakes his head, moves forward and places his forehead against Buck’s, surprising Buck.

“I do have to. You’re my best friend, and I was a shitty best friend back. And I’m not going to let that happen again, alright?” Eddie whispers, releasing Buck’s hand and placing his own hands around Buck’s neck, holding him until Buck nods. When Eddie smiles in response, Buck can’t help but suck in a breath and try to hold it - they’re so close, and all it would take would be one of them to move forward a little, and they would be kissing.

But Buck didn’t -- Buck needed to know --

“When you said co-parent --” Buck begins and then stops, looking at Eddie when he chuckles.

“Buck, how haven’t you realized just how in love I am with you?” Eddie asks and Buck’s heart is pounding inside of his chest, and up his throat and --

“You’re in love with me?” Buck asks, shifting, eyes falling to Eddie’s lips when the other man lets out a hum in response.

“So in love with you,” Eddie chuckles and Buck finds himself moving forward without thought, placing his lips on Eddie’s, opening his mouth when Eddie responds to the kiss. It’s slow, soft, and Buck swears Eddie can hear his heart pounding inside of his chest, but Eddie’s hold on him tightens as Buck uncrosses his legs and Eddie moves so that he’s practically in Buck’s lap. Buck’s entire body is on fire as the kiss becomes more passionate, moans slipping free as he can feel himself hardening in his pants before he eventually pulls away, panting, Eddie kissing the top of his head and running his fingers through Buck’s hair, also panting. 

“I never said, but I’m in love with you too,” Buck says after a few minutes of panting, his breathing becoming normal once again while Eddie chuckles, moving his body away from Buck’s while staring at him, eyes soft.

“I thought so. It’s good to hear out loud, though,” Eddie says and Buck smiles in return, moving forward to hug Eddie and just rest his head against Eddie’s chest. He doesn’t know what’s going to happen with the two of them now, but he does know that everything is getting better.

“Let’s have some brunch, yeah?” Eddie says, interrupting Buck’s thoughts and Buck pulls away with a smile and a nod, his smile forming into a grin when Eddie leans forward and kisses him.

“Brunch,” he says after pulling away and Buck can’t help but chuckle, standing up and stretching before heading towards Eddie’s kitchen, grabbing what he needs as he and Eddie slowly get back to normal, though different, in the best way possible.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and constructive criticism is loved. Please, please comment. I respond back to everyone, and it helps me write more. ♥ Story isn't beta edited. The park Eddie is at when he's arrested was the park he's at in the show, and the holding cell he's in when Buck goes to get him is a real place, but I don't know if it's where Eddie would have really been taken. Let's just pretend it is, though.


End file.
